The Game Begins With You
by ApolloBlackwood
Summary: What did Joker possibly think when he saw Goro Akechi for the first time, when the handsome detective gave a public interview on his opinion on the Phantom Thieves? One-shot. Possible shipping vibes (is it gay to think your rival is good-looking?)


The Game Begins With You

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When I first saw you, you immediately woke my interest. My life up to this point was a scooter ride but turned into a boring chapter in my life pretty quickly, leaving me drained from my duty of pretending. Pretending to be a normal high school student. Pretending to be interested in classes. Pretending to care about all of my confidants' problems. I felt like I was only really living in the other world, the Metaverse - fighting Shadows, exploring and hunting, and stealing hearts. Igor (you don't know him) always talked about rehabilitation and my upcoming death and it felt important to me even though I didn't understand it very clearly.

I grew accustomed to the ways of the Phantom Thieves but it never felt completely right - my life was a game but I couldn't know what kind of game.

Until you appeared on stage.

You waltzed in accompanied by the shouts of your fans and smiled shyly. I recognized you as you looked over the darkened crowd, blinded by the spotlights aimed at you: You were the pancake guy from before but I hadn't looked at you very closely, so I saw just now how handsome you were. Ryuji visibly tensed up on the seat next to me and snarled some adverse comment when he saw you but I sat up on my chair to catch a better glimpse at you.

You moved with decisively placed steps. Your whole demeanor was a carefully rehearsed choreography, an image you wore for public to a tune that you hummed to yourself. When you spoke everybody listened closely and your words were transmitted over all of Japan. What you said I didn't listen to at first, I was too captivated by the **How**. It was elegant, your words deadly steel in your hands and yes, you handled the situation like a surgeon, precisely and effectively.

Maybe you and I weren't so different from each other ...

Ryuji was angry. I saw that he clenched his hands into fists. He usually had the most problems with blending in, pretending to be no troublesome student because where would the line for him be, between pretending to not be something and attracting attention because he tried too hard? But his reaction took my mind to the matter at hand and I processed what you said and tilted my head to hide my devilish smile, feeling burning anticipation.

"Let's hear your opinion."

The lady moderator walked past the chairs, relucantly at first, but then held a microphone to my face so that I could answer to your talk about the Phantom Thieves, give another opinion to your statement. I could have said anything that moment - I could have broken a carefully built-up facade and laughed in your face or I could have joined the crowd's unanimous cheers and proclaimed how much I supported you. And that was the moment when I realized that the game you and I were playing was a game of chess and I was about to choose what pawn I would move to oppose the strike you played with your Queen.

You cocked your head and smiled at me, waiting, not like prey to jump onto your target but like a normal high school student, finding pleasure in talk with unrelated parties. Oh but you didn't know I was a very related party, did you? How would you have reacted if you knew that I was a Phantom Thief, living contradiction to your carefully presented mirage, Goro Akechi?

And I lowered my head to hide my eyes behind my glasses' reflection, and I opposed your statement with a short direct answer, with simple words where you chose to be unambiguous and yet I thought - no, _I knew_ \- we were on the same level, you and I. And you put your head back and laughed at my words, commented something clever in return but I saw clearly that you sensed it, sensed something at least.

You did not disappoint, Goro Akechi. What did you get wind of when you heard me talk? Did I catch your interest like you caught mine and if yes, was it the feeling of having found a mutual or was it a feeling of opposition, of facing an immediate threat? And if you felt the later, why did you seek me out after your show, all kind and soft and friendly?

"I hope we'll meet again!" From this close up you were enchanting. One half of me wanted to sink into your aura, get lulled into your charm, I wanted to close my eyes to your warmth and relax. But my other half - the conscious but hidden one - ran amok, told me to run, hide, fight with all my powers, not give in to the spell. And this thrill, just standing opposite of you and looking of you, taking in this situation, _it made me feel alive._

"What did this asshole want?" Maybe you heard Ryuji's comment but you didn't say anything back when you walked away. Ryuji had his hands in his jeans pockets, frowning at your back before turning to me. I watched you for some more steps, memorizing your step sequence, already planning my next moves and fighting a facial expression that would crack my own mirage, that would be unusual for my normal everyday me.

"I think we didn't see him for the last time", I answered Ryuji. What I didn't say was _"I'm looking forward to it."_

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Ann.: I'm at Kaneshiro's Palace in my first playthrough atm and base this solely on what I played through until now (but heavens do I love pancake boy rn) - please no spoilers :)


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